Is Sonipat-Kundli region another Gurgaon in the making?

With realty prices soaring in Delhi in recent years, action is shifting to the suburbs and the satellite towns. Affordable property prices, proximity to the metro city, enhanced infrastructure and the availability of spacious residential and commercial spaces are the key factors driving the growth of these towns and suburbs.

And one such fast-developing region is the Sonipat-Kundli region in Haryana. In fact, the Sonipat-Kundli region has developed so fast in the past few years that some industry observers have already started viewing this region as the next Gurgaon in the state.

Their belief has been further reinforced with the state government recently announcing a slew of development projects worth over Rs 450 crore for the region and also laying foundation stones for projects worth Rs 150 crore.

Laying the foundation stones of various projects, including a railway overbridge project at the Sonipat-Gohana Road, besides water supply and power projects, Haryana's chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that the Sonipat-Kundli region will soon emerge as a centre of excellence, which can be gauged from the fact that out of four railway overbridge projects approved for Haryana, two are in the Sonipat-Kundli area alone.

The state government also aims to transform the region into an education hub, after the successful transformation of Gurgaon as an IT destination in the Delhi-NCR region. For this, the state government is planning to set up a knowledge city, to be known as Rajiv Gandhi Education City, on nearly 5,000 acres in the Sonipat-Kundli Multi-Functional Urban Complex along the National Highway 1.

This is an endeavor to explore and invite the best of talent in the post globalization era, so that the education city becomes the hub of learning, which will be comparable to the best in the world. "The education city, which is going to host institutions of excellence for higher learning like Oxford and Cambridge, will change the demography of this region in future," a senior state official says.

Industry observers agree. "The Sonipat-Kundli region has already emerged as a favourite destination for investors because of affordable real estate prices compared to other parts of the NCR. The region has witnessed a lot of developmental activities with property prices rising over four times in the last seven years, since it was declared a part of the NCR," N K Suri, a Gurgaon-based real estate consultant, says.

In Kundli, the average plot price today ranges between Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000 per sq yard, whereas a few years ago, when TDI Infrastructure Ltd, the largest developer of the region, launched their initial projects there, the price was about Rs 5,000 per sq yard, he says, adding, "Still, property prices are far cheaper in the Sonipat-Kundli area compared to the other parts of the Delhi-NCR region, offering much scope for appreciation in future."

Another piece of good news for investors is that the rising prices are unlikely to fall at least in near future. "For the next few years, there will be a continued rise in demand in the NCR region, in terms of land-acquisitions. The NCR region is developing and will continue to develop in the next few years. So, there won't be a drop off or fall in property prices in the region," Jai Mavani, executive director of PwC India, says.

Connectivity to the region is also now going to become easier with DDA's plans to build concentric ring roads, which will drastically reduce the time in approaching the national highways. And, soon, the location will boast of an exclusive station of the Rapid Rail Transport System, at Kundli, which will reduce travel time from ISBT to Sonipat to only 20 minutes.

Even in the Delhi Master Plan 2021, Kundli is projected to be part of the NCR, with a proposed eight-lane highway on the NH-8. Among other developments, plans are also afoot to shift the Azadpur Mandi, Asia's largest fruit and vegetable warehouse, to a 70-acre plot in Narela.

"Owing to all these developments and further growth prospects, the Sonipat-Kundli region is already having a spurt in the real estate development with many developers and builders developing their megatownship and commercial projects, including TDI Infrastructure, Ansal Properties, Omaxe and Raheja, among others. And the proposed developments will further boost the economic growth in the area, generating more employment opportunities and development of industries," Neeraj Bansal, director-risk consulting at KPMG India, says.

However, all these facts notwithstanding, some property developers suggest that if the state government is really keen on bringing this region on a par with a region like Gurgaon, it may need to come out with plans to further boost the development of the region by working out subsidies like tax rebate and concession on developmental charges, among others.